The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-08-09
LAND or GREAT PROMISE.

yet there Is one consideration which must
make this land Of come Importance 10 the
world. '45Sl= p
| ~ LAND OF GREAT PROMISE. ~ ~.
Immediately round about s swift Current,
where l am stopping for the present, the
land 10 not OF much value Tor anything,
and never will be; but further toward the
east and aoutheaot, and even toward the
northeast, iH a region Of country which
this world cannot surpGss for wheat grow
inv. It seems 10 BIS fit for nothing else
rather II Ia not excellent for anything else,
bu. oats and barley do well, and the rails.
ing OF cattle promises 10 be Of some i'm.
pottance. AS yet, almost tho whole coun.
try Is wild and unclaimed prairie, much
Of II perhaps never touched by white
mans feet, but enough ha, been brought
under cultivation TO show what is posi-.
bio. And in this day and age of the world
all thst Is neceeasry ia the possibility, and
the thing will be accomplished. So, even
now, great movements are turning toward
this vast central part Of British America,
and enterprise ia pushing forward with an
irresistible force and . ehsnge is beginning
to be seen. i.l e $50 lt5
The opening OF the Canadian Pacific
railway Il few monthB ago made 1t prac.
ticable for capital to penetrate this region !;
and now companies arc at work surveying
routea for Lew roads bpth north and sen.h,
thus to iay open every part Of THO territory
TO the world. Some ofthese rondB are not
merely surveys on paper, but ere actually
In course Of construction, and aome OF
them are built as much as one hundred
milcs from the main road. In West Viz
ginis the building Of railroad ten, TWEEN
ty or Thirty miles is conHidarsble an uuds,-
taking 90 great thss tho newspapers
Throughout the WIola ceGt;oa Hlust keep
the subject agitated for yesYs before sny-
thing can be 30 much as commenced.
But here it eeems that the project ia
thought OF one day, commenced the next
aud pushed to completion the next. So,
one Canro! tel! wket 10 being done until
he see it. Nothing ID sGil di It, and the
first intimation that 1t will be done Is the
work i!sslf. Bns, really, there are few
people here to talk over and .asitate q
scheme d 9py kind; for, let it bs rsmem.
beEed, that this country Is almost totally
without inha6itants. Capitalists from 8
distance who have seeu what the future
must bring to the region, come here quiet
Iy with their money and build the roads
and wait for the development Of the couu.
try to :epay them. sii::@
WONDERFUL ;sEsouRcEs. IS
Great enterprises like This haye moi
been unknown to the writer, although
this is about as great a one as hiss ever
been pushed 80 near completion. The
Russians in the development of Siberia
and. Central Africs, and the Engl!Bh in
shsir fegenprstion OF India, and in the
colonization OF Africa, approach the near.
est to this British American sehemo
fho vast works planned In the gold and
silver excitement and in the speculation
on oil, are inferior in every way. Inferior
drst, becsEse the value and usefulness oil
enterprises with such 9 thing as gold OF
oil for its foundation Is almost 0estRin to
90 visionary and ahort-lived. But a
scheme we'll considered, with agriculture
for its main support, ia nearly certain to
succeed. When othpy things fall short OF
expectations, and when other plaus pra
ruined, no one hardly knows how, then
'griculturo and tho wealth OF the soil ia
! aure, and he who intelligently builds upon
that ;oRndation Is reasonably sure to be
,uccessiul tn the fnsl reckoning OF &C
counts. t3is5 II VI ia ~ y q "a. $ < 4
Then these British American rompa.
nies will not fail, because the wealth In
during recompeuee is in the enterprise
itaslf. The real estate is good Tor the
amount invested, and the return Is euro.
1t may not be realized as speedily as Il
tdight be, but 1t Is sure. II will GONE
with all that ia promised when those vaat
plsina OF British America, now but little
known, and until recently known only to
trappera and explorers. shall rival and sur.
pass the granRries Of India, Of Russia, Of
even the United States, and OF any other
land on tho face Of tho earth. lt
| i do not mean by this that thcae Hud.
son Bay and Manitoba Provinces in iostii-
lty and frui.fulness shall surpsss those
cauntriea named, India, Russia and the
| United States but the superiority will be
only in quantity, not quality. No wheat
can exrel in quality that Of California;
but III quantity-the extent Of the terrific,
~ to be Observation-Disclosures ia small
hey nd comparison beside OF these vast
northern places. The San Jceqiun.V Valley
would only ha farm in British America
and the Basin Of 1nlare would be nothing
SGAs COMPARED WITH OTHER SECTIONS. =
| Our own plainu and prairies in Minne
/, sots, Dakota and southwark orc large, II
Ia true, but they are small In comparison
with that region extending northward ant
westward from the Red river OF tho north
mo man knows how far toward the Arc
tic ocean. l once Travelled !; q Thousand
miles in 2 straight line in the State o
I Texas, and the siza Of Tsxaa impressed NJ,
( forclbly; but take map and lay Texa!
down upon the territory OF British Amer
I lea and Texas will LOOK like o county com
{ pared to State. lS5 Y
4 1t is not theory whether or not thi
/ northern land will produce wheat Thos
interested In these enterprises have no
merely examined the aoil and pronounce'
4 it fertile, and looked over It's extent an
y said 1t was large, and from that data estim
/ ated that 1t would yield enough to pay 10